Tuesday, January 13, 2009

By Vic LeeSAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- The Vietnam Veterans of America and six individual veterans filed a lawsuit Wednesday against the CIA, the Defense Department and the U.S. Army.

They say the government conducted secret experiments that exposed thousands of troops to dangerous chemicals and mind-altering drugs. The experiments were conducted during the Cold War era. The program, reportedly started in the early 1950's, continued through the mid 70's.

Those who participated say they never knew they would be human guinea pigs for the dangerous experiments. Attorneys for the Vietnam veterans estimate about 7,000 troops were subjected to the secret experiments under a program codenamed "MKUltra." "I had injections that were... The syringes were the size that you would use on a cow," described Eric Muth.

Frank Rochelle was a 19-year old draftee. He says he was given hallucinogenic drugs. "I saw animals coming out of the wall. My skin, the freckles, now I understand, the freckles appeared to be bugs under my skin," he recalled. Their lawyers say most of the tests were conducted at Fort Detrick, Maryland and Edgewood Arsenal, which no longer exists.

"Nerve gas, sarin gas, all kinds of toxic substances were sprayed in their face and injected into their veins," said Gordon Erspamer with Morrison & Foerster Law Firm. Many of the drugs are still a mystery because they were identified only by numbers. The lawsuit says some of the chemical and biological substances were implanted into their bodies. "They tested animals with the same apparatus I was required to breathe into," said Rochelle.

Muth and Rochelle say the army told them the experiments were to test gas masks and protective clothing in the event of chemical warfare. They were promised perks if they volunteered. "Four-day work weeks, good chow, as we called it, and being able to wear civilian clothes a lot," Rochelle recalled.

Their lawyer says they all signed secrecy oaths. "If they ever spoke to anyone about these tests, they would be court-martialed and sent to the brig," said Erspamer. Rochelle says many of the vets are dying. If they do not get justice now, they will never get it.

"It's about us because - it's about the guys who are left, the guys who are still living - who need health care," Rochelle said sobbingly. The CIA, Defense Department and the U.S. Army told ABC7 they could not comment on pending litigation. But, the CIA says the program has already been "thoroughly investigated" in the past.

5 comments Post A Comment 1 cruisineasy1 1/8/09 12:28 PM EST

What goes around comes around... I think Karma will kiss or bite us all one way or another. Mark As Violation

2 j.caroleclarke 1/8/09 1:44 PM EST

This is what happens when government agencies such as the CIA are given carte blanche and not held to be accountable, claiming "national security" when in truth all they are interested in is their own job security. If they want to test such things, let the test subjects be fully informed, let the tests be fully documented and the process reviewable. These agencies must not feel they are above the Law. Mark As Violation

3 carmen_nelson 1/8/09 2:43 PM EST

Welcome to the Army!!!!! You can't do drugs, but we'll damned sure give them to you!!! Sounds about right for the Army... Mark As Violation

4 jtone 1/10/09 2:51 AM EST

Great Reporting.

Any way of finding out about recent "experiments" by our govt.I'm thinking about the 1) no sleeping drugs 2) new "truth" serums 3) combination vaccinesThanks for bringing important issues to the public. Mark As Violation

5 testvet 1/14/09 2:31 AM EST

I am one of the "test vets" these men are owed medical care and in most cases compensation for medical problems related to toxic exposures, almost all of the veterans have medical problems that can or may be linked to the exposures either intentional or environmental. The EPA Superfund report shows Edgewood as one of the most contaminated bases in the military. Mark As Violation /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

The suit should not have even been necessary Congress should have forced DOD and the VA to handle this decades ago when this story first broke in 1975, and the Church Committee, again in 1991 when Sec of Defense Dick Cheney and acting VA Secretary Principi promised to help them and the WW2 test veterans, again in November 2004 when Sec Principi then again promised Detroit Free Press writer David Zeman they would get these veterans help.

WASHINGTON ? Thousands of former servicemen who volunteered for chemical and biological tests in the 1960s and 70s might have been exposed to highly toxic substances that could jeopardize their health, and the U.S. government is scrambling to locate them.

The new list of nearly 7,000 names provided last year to the Department of Veterans Affairs servicemen who allowed themselves to be exposed to a range of agents, from nerve gases to Tularemia significantly increases the number of veterans who could become eligible for disability benefits.

VA officials say they are working as quickly as possible to verify the identities of the servicemen and the agents to which they were exposed, and to send out notifications. But veterans' advocates and some members of Congress note the government took more than a decade to notify World War II personnel they'd been exposed to chemical tests, and they're already skeptical of the pace this time around.

"You want to believe that they're serious, but there is, from my perspective, a lack of trust," said Rep. Ted Strickland, D-Ohio, the leading Democrat on the House Veterans Affairs Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee. "I don't want to be cynical here, but quite often the strategy of the department may be to let time pass."

Years of tests

The United States has conducted chemical and biological tests since before the Civil War. During World War II which has been called the "unfought chemical war" both sides produced, yet never used, millions of tons of chemical weapons.

In the meantime, thousands of servicemen were used as subjects in the chemical defense research. Many tests continued through the 1970s.

Army historian Jeffrey Smart has spent the past 22 years at Aberdeen Proving Ground, formerly the Edgewood Arsenal, where many of the chemical tests particularly on protective equipment were conducted.

He said documents show the men knew they were participating in potentially dangerous tests, but not the specific agents being used.

Ken Jones of Riverside said he knew exactly what he was doing when he volunteered in 1954 to be among 2,300 subjects in a germ-warfare project known as Operation White Coat.

The studies, which ran from 1954 to 1973, used mostly Seventh-day Adventist draftees like Jones whose religious beliefs discouraged combat and who were instead given the option of serving as human test volunteers.

While many veterans later said they felt pressured to sign the consent forms, Jones said he never felt coerced.

'Eight Ball'

He can still recall the day he and two other men exchanged their fatigues for scrubs and entered the fabled "Eight Ball" at Fort Detrick, Md. a 1-million-liter test sphere used to study static microbial aerosols and strapped on gas masks before breathing in Q-fever for about five minutes.

"I'm not going to be out on the streets protesting, because I feel like what I did was a benefit to humanity," Jones said, noting that the tests helped the government develop hazmat suits, gas masks and vaccines.

Jones went into quarantine for 17 days and says he never developed health problems from the experience. Many others did, though, and Jones thinks the government should help those veterans.

House Veterans Affairs Committee aide Len Sistek said that's the goal of notifying veterans. The new list his staff provided to the government includes the names of military personnel who underwent testing at Fort Detrick; Edgewood Arsenal, now known as Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland; and Dougway Proving Ground in Utah.

"There's been a sea change in how America perceives this stuff," he said. "Whoever allowed the bad guy to get ahead of them with chemical or biological weaponry was at a huge disadvantage on the battlefield. It was part of the war effort."

Still, he and others argued, the government has a responsibility to provide benefits to those who did experience health problems.

"When you sign on the dotted line, you sign up for a broad spectrum of risks. But just because you were a volunteer does not mean America doesn't have a duty to you."

VA concerned

Leaders at the Department of Veterans Affairs said they agree.

"Obviously we're concerned, and we want to provide outreach to anyone who may have been harmed by toxic chemical tests," said Thomas Pamperin, VA assistant director for policy.

He and Kim Tibbitts, the agency's assistant director for procedures for compensation and pension services, said they first have to determine who the servicemen are and what agents they were exposed to. Many names on the list, Tibbitts said, include only a name but no Social Security number, and identify chemicals by codes that must be tracked down with the Department of Defense.

From there, he said, the agency plans to use personnel records and address locating services to determine if the serviceman is still living, or has surviving relatives.

In the notification letters, Pamperin said, veterans will be told the chemical they were exposed to and the dosage, and be encouraged to seek hospital tests to determine if they suffered related injuries.

"If and, hopefully, none of them have been harmed they will receive the kind of compensation they're entitled to," Pamperin said.

Rick Weidman of the Vietnam Veterans of America accused the VA of dragging its feet.

"The VA is incredibly slow," he said. "They don't really want to do it. They will screw around with that list for a year or longer, and then they'll say they cannot find a lot of the veterans. If you wait long enough, we'll all be dead."

Notices coming

Pamperin strongly disputed the criticisms.

"I understand that some frustrated veterans believe that to be true," he said. "Our responsibility is to implement (veterans' benefits) to the full extent Congress has authorized it, without regard to how much is spent," he said.

Noting that over the past five years about 200,000 veterans have successfully sought compensation, he said, "I am unaware of anyone who has been formally or informally been telling us to slow down our ratings to save money."

Pamperin and Tibbitts said even if all 7,000 people on the new list apply for and obtain benefits, that's still a drop in the bucket compared with the 825,000 disability determinations it handles.

The agency is expected to start notifying the first 1,000 veterans on the list by July, according to the committee.

"It's just incumbent upon the department to find out and put this thing behind us," Strickland said. "It is going to take resources and effort, but it's something that needs to be done."

About Me

A disabled Army veteran who cares about his country, served in the military during the Vietnam Era, and Gulf War One. A "normal" man with a family and grandchildren who just wants a better nation for them, and for our nation to keep the "PROMISE" they made when we entered the military to care for us and our families if we were injured or killed on active duty.
I am 100% schedular for PTSD
I am 100% schedular for Coronary heart Disease
I am 10% service connected for hypertension